


Miss Union Jack

by orphan_account



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Brainwashing, Brother-Sister Relationships, Feminist Themes, Gen, Genderbending, Peggy Carter as Captain America
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-11 15:44:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7058797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The tale of two siblings, the war that brought them together, and the tragedy that tore them apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miss Union Jack

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Muccamukk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muccamukk/gifts).



> betaed by trascendenza

It took Peggy three weeks to track him down after Jack was shot. She should have known; the answer had been right in her face. The “M” in the file was for Michael, not Margaret.

She sat by him, night after night, as he lay handcuffed to a bed in Stark's house. (Howard had told her it could take weeks before the drugs they had used to brainwash him wore off.) Michael tossed and turned, fighting demons only he could see.

Then one day, he looked her straight in the eyes and said, in a weak facsimile of his old voice, “Miss Union Jack, what the bloody hell are you doing in San Francisco?”

….

**London, 1942**

_My dearest Peggy,_

_It's been two years since you ended our engagement and I find that I still miss you. I've heard nothing but great things about your military adventures but if you'll just -_

Peggy heard the sound of the tent flap opening and the familiar stomping of her brother's shoes.

“What have we got here, Peg, is old Fred begging you to come back to him, again?”

Peggy crumpled the letter into a paper ball and threw it in the corner.

“I thought he would give up within the first six months,” she said wistfully, “I do feel a bit sorry for him, but I've made my choice and there's no going back. How did your interview go, Michael?”

“Non-existent, as it turns out,” he replied with a smirk. “They were looking for the wrong M. Carter, it seems this project is women only. The general needs you there; right away.”

…

“I understand you performed commendably in the Blitz. Your brother himself spoke highly of you, said that you saved his life. Tell me, Miss Carter, why did you join the SSR? A woman like yourself, you could stay at home...be safe.”

Abigail Erskine spoke in a thick German accent. Her gray hair fell down her back in a tangled mess. She stared at Peggy through her thick spectacles, scrutinizing her as if she were a lab rat.

Peggy remembered the German attack on London all too well, rushing civilians to safety while the bombs fell, Michael lying half buried under a pile of debris. It had taken her three days to free her brother and get him to safety.

She looked Dr. Erskine right in the eyes and told her the truth.

“I was engaged to a good man back home. I could have married him and continued the war in safety, but I'm not cut out to be a housewife. When Michael told me about the SOE, I knew I was meant to be here, fighting the enemy and saving lives. I've never looked back.”

Dr. Erskine seemed very pleased with Peggy's answer.

“That will be all, Miss Carter.”

Peggy grabbed her coat and headed towards the door, only to stop and look back at the scientist and say, “If I may ask, Dr. Erskine, what exactly is this project for?”

“Why, haven't you heard, Miss Carter? I've manufactured a formula to create the perfect soldier and it only works on women.”

….

“So,” Michael said the next morning, “I heard you're going to be Erskine's guinea pig?”

His tone was light and casual, but Peggy could hear the brotherly concern in his voice.

Peggy had received her acceptance letter a scant few hours after her interview with the scientist. She stared down at her breakfast, unable to do more than move the food around on her plate. Her appetite was nowhere to be found.

“Michael,” she said, “I have to do this. We could lose this war. Erskine's serum may not even work, but I want to make a difference any way that I can.”

“My sister, always going off to be the hero.” Michael teased. “Just promise me you'll come back to me. I'd hate to bring you home to Mother and Father in a bodybag.”

Peggy wrapped her arms around her brother and held him close.

“You know I will, Michael.”

…

“Dr. Erskine, why is it that only women can take the serum and live?” Peggy asked the night before the procedure.

The other woman smiled at her.

“A little fib on my part.” She briefly lifted a finger to her lips, urging Peggy to keep her secret, before continuing. “There was a man, you see, young and arrogant. He thought he could harvest the powers of the gods and forced me to give him the serum.”

“Did he survive?” Peggy asked.

“He did, in a matter of speaking. You see, the serum amplifies everything that is inside, so good becomes great; bad becomes worse. This is why I wanted a woman. Because a man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a woman, who has never known true power in her life, she; will know the value of strength... and compassion.”

….

That was the moment Peggy truly began to believe in Abigail Erskine. The next day she was bombarded with vita radiation in a special chamber. She emerged standing at 1.88 meters and weighed 91 kilos.

A scant few seconds later, Dr. Erskine was shot by a Hydra agent. Peggy and Michael pursued him through the streets of London, but the man killed himself with a cyanide capsule to evade capture.

…

“Have you seen the papers, Peg?” Michael asked.

Peggy snatched the newspaper out of her brother's hands and stared at the picture in horror.

“Miss Union Jack? Who the bloody hell came up with that name?”

“Word has it that Howard Stark did. I think it suits you. All you need is a shield with our country's coat of arms and you're ready to go,” Michael said playfully.

Peggy swatted at him, but Michael easily evaded her.

His face became serious. Michael handed Peggy a plain brown envelope.

“I have new orders, sis. The SOE's recruited me for some sort of super-secret operation. Now that you're a super-soldier, they've decided to take the lesser Carter sibling out for a spin.”

“Michael, this is preposterous. We're a team and always have been. Who else is going to stand by my side when I go up against Johann Schmidt?”

“Oh, Peggy,” Michael said bemusedly, “you'll do just fine without me and you know it. It's your turn to slay the dragon and save the princess.”

Peggy looked at her older brother, trying to put up a brave front.

“Just promise you'll come back to me, Michael,” she said.

Michael leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

“Of course I will. After all, you still owe me five quid from last week's poker game.”

Peggy received notice of her brother's death the day after she sent Johann Schmidt and the remainder of his followers to the bottom of the ocean. It never occurred to her that Michael could still be alive, transformed into an assassin for the SSR.

…

**Present Day**

“So what do we do now?;" Michael asked. He was almost, but not quite, back to his old self.

“Isn't it obvious?;” Peggy said. “The SSR is rotten from the inside and I intend to fix it, even if I have to tear it down piece by piece. Jack and Sousa have pledged to help me, and we could use a man of your skills.”

“Of course I'm in,” Michael replied with a glint of mischief in his eyes, “I'm with you 'til the end of the line.”


End file.
